Best PlacesKentucky Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Kentucky, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Kentucky ranks 46th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on the weather and health outcomes. It does better on affordable childcare, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Kentucky
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Kentucky
The counties of Kentucky, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Jefferson County
Incomes run higher, local pay stretches further, and more adults hold degrees.
Jessamine County, Nelson County & Boyle County
Fewer homes sit empty, though tree cover is thinner.
Fayette County, Campbell County & Boyd County
Scores close to Jessamine County, Nelson County & Boyle County, except that fewer households have young kids here.
Daviess County, Hardin County & Henderson County
Biking is worse.
Warren County, Christian County & McCracken County
Big-city amenities are further off and disaster risk is higher.
Madison County, Pike County & Floyd County
It is quieter and homes cost less.
Pulaski County, Wayne County & Russell County
Health outcomes score lower and health care is harder to reach.
Laurel County, Whitley County & Knox County
Heat risk is lower.
Kentucky shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 4%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Kentucky's strengths and weaknesses
Kentucky ranks near the bottom because several of the basics fall short at once. Affordable childcare, state finances, and quiet carry most of that.
The weak spots are broad rather than narrow: the weather, health outcomes, and the schools all drag on the score. Those are area averages, and the map below shows which parts run well above them.
Where Kentucky ranks high
- Cheap childcare$708 a month, better than 86% of states
- State fiscal healthBetter than 67% of states
- QuietBetter than 65% of states
- Tree shadeBetter than 62% of states
- Short commute24.0 minutes each way, better than 61% of states
Where Kentucky ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of states
- Health outlookBetter than only 6% of states
- School gradeC−, better than only 8% of states
- Household income$70,650 median, better than only 9% of states
- BikingBetter than only 13% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Kentucky
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kentucky home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,650, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Kentucky's effective rate of 0.73%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Kentucky
Kentucky's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Kentucky.
Who works in Kentucky, and how
Work in Kentucky centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Kentucky
Kentucky has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of states. That concentrates in some parts of Kentucky and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Kentucky, month by month
Kentucky sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 36° | 26° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 45° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 48° |
The best schools in and around Kentucky
Schools across Kentucky average a C−, better than 8% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Sublimity Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Carter City Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Anchorage Independent Public SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nagel Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Scapa At BluegrassA · 66% proficient
- Delhi Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Anderson High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Dupont Manual HighA · 72% proficient
- Ridgeview HighA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kentucky school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kentucky measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Kentucky against the other 49 states.
Who Kentucky suits
Common questions about living in Kentucky
Is Kentucky a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kentucky ranks 46th of 50 states. It scores highest on affordable childcare, state finances, and quiet, and lowest on the weather and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kentucky expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $221,308. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $70,650 median income, cost of living beats 25% of states.
Is Kentucky safe?
Kentucky is safer than 39% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $357 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Kentucky?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 46 with lows near 26. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 4% of states.
What are the best areas in Kentucky?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Jefferson County, Jessamine County, Nelson County & Boyle County, and Fayette County, Campbell County & Boyd County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Kentucky good for families?
Schools beat 8% of states, crime safety beats 39%, and childcare runs $708 a month.
Is Kentucky good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 25% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 40% of states. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare Kentucky with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kentucky. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kentucky represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Kentucky detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kentucky: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kentucky: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kentucky: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kentucky: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kentucky detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.